Namibia head coach Collin Benjamin says that the injury to Peter Shalulile could be a blessing in disguise, as it will give other players a chance to show what they can do.”
Peter Shalulile, Namibia’s talisman, suffered a hamstring injury while in action for Mamelodi Sundowns last month.
As a result, the lethal striker has been ruled out of the Namibia squad set to battle with Bafana Bafana in an international friendly on Saturday.
The clash will be played at Orlando Stadium in Soweto and Namibia coach Benjamin is confident that the team can cope without Shalulile.
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Shalulile is Namibia’s all-time top goalscorer with 16 goals to his name.
“With Peter not being here, obviously it’s a blow,” said Benjamin ahead of the Bafana clash. “If he is one of the best players at Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa, then you can know his impact on our team when he’s not around.
“Nonetheless, it’s an opportunity for some players who normally wouldn’t start to use this platform and to showcase their talent and show me, the coach, I’m here, Namibia, I’m here – I can do the job. And to make our [national team] pool bigger.”
In addition, The Brave Warriors coach, Benjamin, also shared his thoughts on Bafana under coach Hugo Broos.
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Benjamin stated that the South African national team is an inspiration for Namibia and that they have made progress under the leadership of Broos.
“You guys [Bafana] have good players, technically very gifted players, facilities, structures, you guys have everything, that’s why I said you guys have what we want,” declared the Namibia tactician.
“That’s why, for us to get what we want, we have to get results on the pitch. So, with that said, the team has been doing very well, they’ve developed [under Broos], some players are playing in the top leagues in the world, so something is being done well, and we want a piece of that [in the future].”